How it Begins
by Fantasy-of the-Heart
Summary: Kankuro only wants to protect Gaara, no matter how small the effort.
**Hi everyone.**

 **I wanted to try another Gaara/Kankuro fic.**

 **Please read and review!**

 **I don't own anything!**

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Kankuro sat in the still room in a chair as he watched his younger brother lying on his bed.

It had been about a week since the Shukaku was extracted from him, and as a result Gaara felt a huge strain on his body. Physically the young red-head male was exhausted but mentally he felt a great weight be lifted off his shoulders since he could finally be at peace with his inner thoughts.

So now he lay in bed shirtless with a cold towel on his forehead as he rested peacefully.

His older brother however was troubled. He was happy that Gaara was alright but he felt a great deal of resentment to himself.

Sasori had really taking a beating on him in more ways than one. The puppeteer felt completely useless that he couldn't be the one to save his brother from danger. That credit had gone to someone else. It wasn't that Kankuro had anything against Konoha's blonde ninja, but as Gaara's older brother he simply felt as though Gaara's safety should be his responsibility.

Kankuro had not left his brother's side since returning to Suna. Gaara had stayed in the hospital for three days before being released. His body desperately needed to recover. As now a former junchuriki Gaara was not used to the strain and impact that came with having a tailed-beast removed. For his own health he needed to recover no matter how long it took.

That was why his older brother had been watching over him all this time.

The older sibling knew that his younger brother would be in distress and Kankuro was determined that Gaara was well cared for.

He rubbed his hands together in a nervous gesture as he continued his watch. It had been quite some time since he had actually spoken to his little brother. They never actually had what you would call a steady relationship before but it was a bit different now than it was in the past.

If Kankuro had seen himself doing this a few years ago; he could've considered himself crazy. One wouldn't be able to approach Gaara without a death threat of some kind. But all of that changed, Gaara truly was a changed person both brothers had worked hard in order to establish a bond with each other. As interesting as it was Gaara and Kankuro were close despite their differences in the past.

The older brother was brought out of his thoughts when he heard Gaara stir a bit before opening his eyes. For a moment his vision was dizzy before everything became clear and he turned his head slightly to meet the eyes of his brother's.

"Your awake".

Neither of them said anything as they continued to stare at each other. Almost as if one was too scared to say anything to the other. But why should Kankuro have reason to be nervous? Gaara was not going to hurt him, and he wasn't going to hurt Gaara either. So why suddenly did he have this feeling that he was doing something wrong?

"Um...how do you feel?"

Really? He had to say that. Of all the things that could've came out of his mouth it had to be something as stupid as that. He mentally kicked himself as Gaara slowly attempted to sit out wincing a bit as he steadied himself before the world stopped spinning.

"I'm...okay I suppose".

The nervous rubbing of his hands started again. Kankuro really didn't know what he was supposed to do. Had his older sister been here she might've done a better job. But he was on his own for this one and he didn't like it at all.

Gaara looked a little pale, seeing how his health was a little iffy at the moment. And Kankuro was very concerned about this.

The red head was surprised when Gaara stood and up and walked over placing his hand on his forehead "Your warm I think you have a fever".

Truth to be told, Gaara wasn't the only one that was freaking out.

Kankuro didn't know what had prompted him to check his brother's temperature but whatever it was he didn't seem to mind. Gaara's skin felt unnaturally smooth and silky which surprised him. Then again, Kankuro had never actually touched Gaara before.

It was strange that his little brother looked and felt more human in this state.

Never had Kankuro imagined that Gaara would be in this sort of situation. But with the removal of Shukaku everything was changing in an instant, much too fast for the puppeteer to understand.

His eyes darted back to Gaara when he started to cough. Almost immediately Kankuro displayed a look of worry as he patted Gaara's back, in a moment his coughing fit died down and he took several deep breaths.

"Would you like some water?"

The red head nodded and Kankuro quickly left the room all while confused at his inner emotions that were swimming inside his head at the moment. His tough nature normally meant that he almost never considered to care about the wellbeing of others to a certain extent. That of course being said Gaara was a completely different story. His younger brother was not like most people even Kankuro knew that. But still he didn't even consider himself to be a caring person until now. A shinobi wasn't supposed to let their feelings get in the way of their missions; that only presented weakness and the last thing Kankuro wanted to be seen as was weak.

He came back a moment later was a glass of cold water and gingerly steadied the cup while Gaara drank from it.

Drinking helped and he felt a lot better than he had a few moments ago and was even strong enough to drink another glass upon his request.

"I'm sorry".

"Hmm?"

Kankuro gazed at his little brother through sad eyes. "I want to apologize". "What for?" Kankuro didn't respond right away as he chose his words carefully. Gaara not knowing what his older brother wanted to say patiently waited for him to continue.

"I let you be taken". The red head raised an invisible eyebrow "Come again?" "I'm such an ass! I let them take away my own brother! How can you still look up to me and not think of my cruel?!"

The floodgates had been unexpectedly opened but Kankuro found himself unable to care. Whatever it was that he had been keeping inside he felt the urge to speak now before things potentially got worse. For once Kankuro was willing to put his pride aside if it meant Gaara could know the things that haunted him.

"The day the Atasuki came I...I only watched as you fought in the sky. I should've been there to help you, I didn't allow myself to think about helping you".

The puppeteer hadn't even realized that he was crying until he felt the droplets hit his clothing. Gaara was astounded by what he was hearing. It was even more surprising that Kankuro was actually crying. Never in his life had he seen his older brother cry before.

Wiping away some of his tears he continued to speak. "I'm your big brother it's my job to make sure that your taken care of. I failed at that, I failed to protect you. I failed to be by your side when you needed me the most. I've failed in everything that I've done".

Unable to care whether Gaara wanted it or not, he wrapped his arms around his little brother hugging him tightly as he continued to sob. "I'm so sorry Gaara I really did try but I couldn't protect you".

The young Kazekage had no words to describe the emotions that were building up in his chest.

It was a strange feeling of happiness that someone wanted to protect him. But at the same time he felt a bit of guilt that his older brother belittled himself for thinking that he wasn't good enough to even be considered a source of protection for him. But what startled him the most was that for the first time Kankuro was expressing his feelings verbally as well as physically.

Gaara had always known his brother to express himself verbally but never did he think that something as simple and heartwarming as a hug could bring so much meaning to it.

Kankuro gave a silent gasp when he felt Gaara return the hug.

This was the very first time both brothers were hugging each other. This had never happened before, not even when they were kids. So one could only imagine the emotional shackles that had suddenly been broken as they continued to hug each other gently.

"Kankuro please do not cry over me".

Gaara paused for a minute; there were so many things he wanted to say. But he didn't know where to start. After thinking for a minute he spoke once again.

"I know that you work hard...and I know that you care for me. Believe me when I say that I care for you also". Kankuro nearly had a heart attack when Gaara said that, his heart was beating so fast that embarrassingly enough Gaara could hear it.

"That day I wanted to protect so much more then what you think. I was not only fighting for the sake of the village I was also fighting for you".

Kankuro's body started to shake as he held on to his brother for security. "I am sorry that I wasn't there when you needed me. And I want to apologize for my action towards you in the past. It was unfair of me to treat you and Temari like that. But it didn't occur to me that I care for you both very much until my battle with Uzumaki Naruto".

The puppeteer was currently at a complete loss for words. The fact that Gaara was saying something at all was abnormal, but to know that he was apologizing to him was something that totally blew him away.

"Kankuro please look at me".

When he had his older brother's full attention Gaara gave him a real genuine smile just for him.

Kankuro was so shocked by his brother's actions that he forgot how to breath for a moment. "I forgive you. You never did anything wrong everything that you did was with a purpose. I know that you would never do anything to hurt me".

Kankuro returned Gaara's smile with one of his own; his unpainted face made it come out more.

"And I forgive you Gaara. It was never your fault from the beginning. You were just confused and mislead. I know that at times I may have a hard time expressing myself but I truly do care about you and I want nothing more to protect you and Temari".

Gaara laughed softly in happiness before his smile grew even bigger "Kankuro I love you".

His older brother started to cry again but this time for an entirely different reason. He grinned from ear to ear and he gave his little brother a gentle squeeze.

"I love you Gaara, I promise next time I will stand by your side no matter what. You have my word".

The red head only laughed again. "I am very grateful to have you as my brother".

Kankuro affectionately nudged him. "And I'm glad that little brother loves his big brother. There's nothing that he wants more".

 **Thank you for reading!**

 **Please leave me some nice reviews!**


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